Internet access and telephone lines were cut out in Iran after escalation in protests on Thursday night following a call by the country’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi for mass demonstrations.
Unrest in the country has been simmering for 12 days now, with the death toll reaching 45 as authorities crack down on protesters who have taken to the streets to protest over its ailing economy. More than 2,260 people have been detained, as per estimates by human rights agencies.
With the US getting involved in the country’s internal political matter, things may be on the verge of quickly getting out of hand. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump threatened to take severe action if Iranian authorities “start killing people” who are protesting, warning that Washington would “hit them very hard”.
US Vice President JD Vance also reiterated support for the Iranian people, saying the United States stands by anybody who is engaged in peaceful protests and trying to exert their rights for free association, adding that the “smartest thing” for Iran to do would be to engage with the US on its nuclear programme.
Also Read: Iran vows severe punishment for US-backed ‘collaborators’
Protests in Iran first began on December 28, 2025, in the bazaar of Tehran, over hyper inflation and the plunging value of the currency. Demonstrations soon spread nationwide, with people taking to the streets en masse against government mismanagement and Western sanctions. Curbs on social and political freedoms under Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also became reasons for protesters’ agitation.
While Iranian authorities acknowledge economic hardships, they accuse networks backed by foreign powers for stoking internet unrest. On Wednesday, iran’s top judge warned protesters that there would be “no leniency” for those who help the enemy against the Islamic Republic.
With the latest intervention of Iran’s exiled prince in Dubai, whose fatally-ill father fled Iran just before the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, it remains to be seen how things unfold and whether he would be successful in swaying the Iranian public.
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